HAYDON BRIDGE

'Haydon Bridge' is a small village in Northumberland in England, with a population of around 2000 people. Its most distinctive features are its two bridges, both crossing the River Tyne, one the picturesque original bridge for which the village was named, now restricted to pedestrian use, and a modern bridge which now carries the A69 road. The modern vilage is divided in two by the Tyne, whereas the old village was on a hill overlooking the river; all that remains is an old church which used stone taken from nearby Hadrian's Wall. The A686 road terminates at its junction with the A69 just outside the village, linking Haydon Bridge with Alston and Penrith.
John Martin (painter); the painter of biblical destruction, was born in Haydon Bridge at East Land Ends. His dramatic "The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah" can be seen in the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne.
At 1A Ratcliffe Road is the cottage once owned by Monica Jones. There she and Philip Larkin would spend many holidays. One of his better-known later poems ''Show Saturday'' is dedicated to the 1973 Bellingham Show, which they attended. They also went to the tar barrel ceremony in Allendale, and dined out in Blanchland. It was a record of Tommy Armstrong's 'Trimdon Grange Explosion' which Larkin heard at the cottage that prompted him to write his own late poem ''The Explosion''.
Any visit to Haydon Bridge should encompass 'John Clarke's Newsagents', for years a pillar of the local community. The village also boasts four pubs: The Railway, The Anchor, The General Havelock and Haydon Bridge's Working Men's Club. There are two schools: Shaftoe Trust First School and Haydon Bridge High School.
Very recently, the 'old foundry' as locals called it (based on its earlier use as an ironworks established in 1843) was demolished to make way new accommodation specifically for past and present Haydon Bridge residents. The new flats are modern comfortable buildings that still manage to fit in with the rest of the beautiful surroundings of the village.
For many years the village has been the only one on the main A69 road without a bypass. Recently permission was granted and a bypass is currently under construction.
Haydon Bridge railway station is situated on the Tyne Valley Line.